A blog that helps you think like a producer and produce like a thinker.

July 2012

July 31, 2012

As you get busier in your producing career, what will start to happen is that your inbox will start to fill up with invites. When this starts to happen, it can be a great feeling, but it can also be very stressful. You'll often find that you get invited to two or three things on the same day or night. So how do you handle this? Here are a few tips:

1. Make a donation- If you know you can't attend an event and there is a charity or a company being supported, send them a donation. It need not be huge, as every little bit counts. This way, you are there monetarily in spirit.

2. Send someone in your network- Before you completely turn down the event, think if there is anyone in your network who would enjoy being there. Ask the host for permission of course, then invite that individuals to check out the event. If it's a good experience for them, you've just turned a no into an opportunity for someone.

3. Send someone on your behalf- If you have an intern or maybe someone who just started working with the company, see if that person will go and provide you with feedback on the show or event. You can even ask them to focus on meeting people and bringing back some business cards.

4. Promote the event- You can always tweet about how awesome the person who invited you is. You can blog about their work, you can send out an email blast. There's a lot you can do to spread the word, even if you can't be there in person.

5. Connect them with press- If you can't attend the event, but know a blogger or a writer who would love to cover the event, send them an invite. All projects need publicity and if you help make that happen, it will more than make up for you not being able to attend.

And there you have it. So the next time you're dreading that RSVP with the negative response, use one of these tips to turn it into a positive.

July 30, 2012

Many people believe in the idea that you should leap and the net will appear. I believe that it's smarter to build the net before you leap.

So what does this mean?

It means taking the time before you're in dire straits to build relationships that will help support you if things go wrong in the future. This is done through taking the time to invest in others. This can include showing up to a strike and helping to clean up, sending a card to someone to let them know you appreciate their work, or sending out a posting for someone looking for a job or an apartment. Taking the time to help others is crucial to your work no matter what field you are in and not enough people do it.

It's easy to get distracted and think that you are "too busy" to answer an email or support someone's work, but remember when you have something you're working on, there's someone else who is also not sure if they are "too busy" to check it out. If you want to learn more about building the net before you leap, I will be doing a talk about this for the folks at ELNYA. If you haven't heard about them, you should take the time to check them out. They are a great resource for arts entrepreneurs.

The seats are limited for the talk and they have a pretty big following so I can't make any promises that everyone will get in, but you can click HERE to reserve and hopefully I'll see you there!

July 27, 2012

I'm a film producer, and have been working on several projects for a few years now. The first thing people want to know is "How did you get into that?". They wonder if you attended film school, or interned in film production, or had family in the business. No, I explain, I always wanted to do it and an opportunity to do it just came up.

And how did that happen, you may ask? In this case, my Italian teacher who knew that I liked movies introduced me to another student of his who was working on a documentary. I met the other student, saw a rough cut and declared with full brashness "It's great, can I help produce it? I don't have an experience but I've read a lot about this and will work hard". The reply was "of course!" and thus we began producing this project.

Thus was born "This Time", a documentary about musicians whose careers are facing challenges, and how they try to overcome them, and the faith and passion that keeps them going after so many years of obstacles and disappointment. Four years later, after the trials of Job, that final film is coming out in theaters on August 10th at the Quad Cinema in New York. You can see our trailer and our facebook page below. Please go see the film and support your fellow artists trying to keep chins up in a brutal business!

And this work on a documentary brought, through an introduction by generous super-connector Michael Roderick, to Kennon Hullett. She was beginning work on the documentary about obesity and the science behind it, and needed some help. Michael knowing my documentary background, put us in touch and I'm working as an executive producer, to shape the presentation, make introductions and just be an adviser to a hard-working, talented first time filmmaker. Little did either of them know that at the time I've done lots of reading on the subject myself over the past few years and was excited at a chance to do more work on the topic and see these ideas spread to a broader audience. Now that project is coming into the final stretch on kickstarter (please support us below if you can !) and it looks to be headed to filming and raising the full budget in the fall. The fact that I knew nothing about kickstarter before this is incidental, because our team managed to include someone who did and is a generous teacher.

So these two documentary projects I've been working on, among others, are really the fruits of nothing more than being open to an opportunity and to take a risk. For the past few years I've always had lots of meetings where things didn't line up between me and the person on the other end of the table. Or projects that I thought would be a financial mess, or where I didn't share the view of the creator. But, before you meet that artist or creator, or the producing team on something, you'll never know if it's going to be a good fit.

So the next time, make sure you take that random meeting someone proposes and learn more about the vision and the business behind it. Think it over, see if it feels right, and be open to taking a risk. One of those random meetings is going to turn into a great opportunity for you to move you into a whole new level of creativity and visibility for your work, you'll just never quite know ahead of time. And this sort of risk taking seems to feed on itself once you make the leap, attracting the like-minded and other brave risk takers

July 26, 2012

This week's A.P.T. goes out to my friend Mark Stuart. A number of years back when I was just starting to get into producing, Mark and I attended the same CTI class together where he introduced the idea for his dance company. I took the time to come and see one of his presentations and was absolutely blown away. If someone took the acrobatics of the circus world, the passion of theatrical dance numbers, and the creativity of some of the top directors and choreographers, they MAY get something close to what he does. He is currently at the tail end of his fundraising campaign and I urge any producer reading this to take a look at what he's up to and if you like what you see, DONATE. You can read more below.

Excelsior!

About STANDARD TIME:

STANDARD TIME is the first full-evening length work created by Mark Stuart Dance Theatre. Featuring 14 MSDT dancers, 4 singers, and a live orchestra,STANDARD TIME explores the evolution of social conflict and mankind’s difficulty to learn from previous mistakes.

Working within MSDT's signature action-packed and gravity-defying style, this 90-minute dance theatre piece dramatizes the stories of three pairs of lovers – mortal and fallible – who succumb to various forms of social prejudice. Set in three different time periods, (30's–40's, 50's–70's and the 80's–present) each story is woven together musically by the popular "standards" and dance styles of their respective eras. The lovers are observed by mystical beings who control time with ‘powers’ brought to theatrical life in a style reminiscent of "Cirque du Soleil". They place each pair of lovers into the three designated time periods and intervene only when social conflict begins to tear love apart. In the end, the mortals learn to rise above conflict and live in peace.

About Mark Stuart Dance Theatre:

Dubbed “smoldering” by the New York Times, Mark Stuart Dance Theatre brings gravity-defying movement and dramatic storytelling to the stage, screen, and printed page. The company brings together a stunning array of dance styles and backgrounds, featuring an all-star cast of Broadway gypsies from MOVIN' OUT, MEMPHIS, WICKED, COME FLY AWAY, LION KING, IN THE HEIGHTS, SPIDERMAN, BILLY ELLIOT, PROMISES PROMISES, and former members of legendary dance companies Parsons Dance, Momix, Hubbard Street, and Pilobolus.

About THE WORKSHOP:

Before we dive headfirst into a theatre, we need to get our dancers together and fully develop the story and choreography of STANDARD TIME. To accomplish that objective, we are doing a five-week workshop this summer with 12 dancers to lay out the story and choreography. Immediately following the workshop we will present a limited number of performances to an invited audience of industry professionals. From these performances we will gather feedback and fine tune STANDARD TIME. Meanwhile we will begin to solicit backers and theaterlooking to 2013 to mount a full production.

When is STANDARD TIME?

We are ALREADY in pre-production for STANDARD TIME and the full workshop goes into rehearsal on July 30th, 2012! Our invited-audience presentations follow on September 6th and 7th. We are targeting a full production of STANDARD TIME for 2013.

July 24, 2012

A quick note about business etiquette based on a few interactions I have had recently.

If someone is kind enough to make an introduction for you, then you should always make sure you respond. If they are making that introduction in person, it's very important to engage the person. You never know who you are being introduced to. All too often I see people blow someone off because they look at their job title and think they are above them. Then later on when they find out that the person they just snubbed was a major donor or investor, the egg is on their face.

If you are getting an intro, it is like sitting at the table when someone else has cooked. Simply put, it's rude to not eat the food. You never know if you might like what's being cooked. Relationships are the backbone of all business and good relationships come from respecting everyone you meet regardless of their job title and what they can or can't do for you.

So the next time someone cooks, make sure you take the time to eat the food. They made it just for you, so don't disrespect them.

Excelsior!

P.S.- Tickets JUST went on sale for the next Finding Center. Grab yours HERE.

July 23, 2012

This weekend I had another Finding Center class and as with all of the classes, there were some gems of insight that came from the participants. I wanted to share some of those gems with all of you today and if the comments spark your interest, be sure to grab a seat for the next class!

1. If everything feels urgent, then nothing will get done- During the class we discussed how it's very easy for us to feel that everything has to be done this instant. We have to answer that email or text right now, or we have to send out this blast in the next five minutes, etc. When too many things take that kind of priority, it becomes difficult to get anything done at all.

2. Stop answering the question for the other person- We talked a lot about how sometimes the urge to reach out to someone is stifled by what we think they might say. The problem is that we have already answered our own question and haven't tested out the reaction of the other person. If you think someone is too busy to talk, test your theory. You never know when you might be surprised.

3. Look for gaps in the market- Many of us discussed the frustrations with certain elements of the business we were in as opportunities to create new products and services. A few members of the group even developed their own plan for a new class. If you are feeling that there is something missing in your business, see if you might be the right person to fill that gap.

4. No entrepreneur is successful without the support of amazing managers and technicians- Finding good people who specialize and keeping them with you is the best way to get things done. Respect those that work with you in any capacity no matter how small the job may seem.

5. Trusting others is the only way to get more done- We talked a lot about the fear that someone will not be able to do the job as good as we can and how that can be crippling. Delegating is an incredibly important skill when it comes to getting things done and true delegation take trust. If it doesn't work out, we learned what to prepare for the next person we delegate to. Don't give up if someone doesn't work out. Take notes and manage expectations next time.

And there you have it. I really love this class because so many people are coming up with new ideas at every turn. If you want to be part of the fun, grab your seat HERE.

July 20, 2012

With all the heat we've been having I figured we all could use something cool to think about, so this week's guest blog comes from talented writer Niko Tsakalakos who's telling us all about his awesome new solo album The First Snow. Take it away Niko!

Hello fellow readers of Michael's blog,

Being the connector that he is, Michael has given me the opportunity to spread the word about my new debut solo album, which I am currently recording. I am singer-songwriter and composer-lyricist working in musical theatre in New York. I met Michael after the New York premiere of a musical I wrote with Janet Allard called Pool Boy.

Since I can remember, I have dreamed about landing a record deal. When I moved out to LA with my two brothers at the age of twenty, I seriously had this fantasy that we would show up on stage at one of our gigs on Sunset Boulevard and a producer would be sitting in the shadows in one of the booths wearing a bleached white button-down shirt, a black sports jacket and sunglasses. He'd call us over, blow a puff of smoke from his mouth and say the magic words. Having lived how hard it is to keep a band together, even when you're a band of three brothers, or especially when you're a band of brothers, having been so close to the coveted prize so many times, seduced by inflated promises, dashed by pressures of producers and managers, seedy side-shows of revelry, let alone the strains of economic survival, and havingseen other bands get torn apart by their record labels, I stand here now a decade later with an odd sense of relief in the realization that I can make a record on my own terms, in my own way, without the pressures of a label. Because the one thing I learned on this insane journey of making music is that what matters most is the people you connect yourself with. Your collaborators.

I am ecstatic to say that I have joined forces with Brian Usifer (Associate Music Supervisor: Book of Mormon) and Sammy Merendino (Drummer/Engineer: Cindy Lopper) to co-produce my debut solo album: The First Snow. The story, the why, the need to make this record is all here on my Pledge Music page. Please take a moment to check out the page and short video:

I wish I could have done a self-produced album a long ago, and saved myself a lot of heartache, perhaps still be best friends with my estranged brother, but then again. I take that back. You live and learn and if I hadn't taken the long and treacherous road, I probably wouldn't have written these songs I want to share.

July 19, 2012

For those of you who read this blog on a regular basis, you know that I skip a day here and there, but keep a pretty consistent writing schedule. The past few weeks have been more sporadic and I wanted to make sure that you, my readers, knew what was going on so no one got too worried.

Hi Mom.

The heat wave has been a bit of a challenge and I suffered from some heat sickness. This has required me to spend much more time in bed and drinkng water than I would like and when I am up, it's been for very short periods of time. I'm happy to say that I am starting to feel better and that I will be getting back to my old routine very soon. Thanks to all of you who have hung in there with me and to my new readers as well!

That being said, below is info and a discount for you on a new magic show. If you have the time to check it out, all of the details are below.

And remember if someone tells you to take this heat seriously and try not to be a hero out there, BELIEVE THEM.

This one-of-a-kind Sleight of Hand and Illusion experience brings together the spectacle and wonder of never before seen magic to a mix of classic and contemporary rock music! Magic Rocks has thrilled audiences in entertainment hot spots Sydney, London, Miami and Algeria, redefining audiences idea of the traditional magic show. Etienne’s exquisite manipulation skills, sharp sense of humor and Vegas style illusions are sure to delight even the most skeptical of viewers. THERE IS A 2 DRINK MINIMUM FOR ALL PATRONS.

July 16, 2012

Last week was a very busy week for me as some of you may have noticed, from the lack of posts. The week was filled with meetings with different people in the producing field who were looking to raise money for various projects. As I went through each meeting, there was one common thread to what surfaced as the most important part of each conversation.

The reason they were choosing to raise for this particular company, film, project, or show.

This TED Talk will give you a very clear picture of what I'm talking about.

If you have decided to work on a project, it is absolutely essential that you ask yourself Why before you commit because that is the question that you will be asked again and again throughout your process. Any funder, investor, or partner will be interested in the reason you stand behind the product you're selling and the answer can't be that you're looking to get a credit. It needs to go deeper than that. Is this something that will educate? Will it inspire? Will it cause people to think?

Why did I decide to create Finding Center? Because every client I have sat down with in the past year has been overwhelmed and they have needed tools to deal with it. I want more artists to feel in control of their projects and I created a class to make that happen.

Every day I get emails from people who are raising money on projects and the ones who get my attention tell me why this project is so important to them and the rest of the world.

July 10, 2012

This is a question you will always be asked when you mention you provide a service. Hands down this is the make or break moment of your business. I have had a number of bad experiences in this side of the business, so I wanted to share with you some tips on charging for your services.

1. Do market research- Who is your average customer? How much have they paid in the past for a similar service? How large is the market that you are selling to?

2. Calculate how much you need to make- If you have any service that is hourly, make sure that you have done the math to see how many customers you need at that rate to cover costs and keep the business running. All too often I see people ask for a random number and then find out later that they can't make ends meet. When I first started this was a problem for me as well, so make sure to do the math first.

3. Only lower your price as an investment- It's easy to lower your prices. There is pressure every where from other folks who are charging less than you are, but as Seth Godin says, this is a race to the bottom. There is only one reason to lower your price for someone: You are investing in the relationship. If you find you really want to work with someone, but they can't afford your top rate, you can decide to invest the discount to make the relationship work. If it does, they may come back and pay you twice what you discounted them before.

4. Say NO- Ignoring this one almost killed my business. When I first started I wanted to take on every project and as a result I wasn't doing very good work on any project. You need to say no to things that are not going to move your business forward or that are going to be damaging to your forward motion. It's really difficult when you really need the money, but there is always a better way than working with someone you really don't want to work with or taking on more than you can possibly handle

5. Give customers a supersize for the purchase of a small- If you charge for a service and give the customer ten times what they expected, they will come back again and again and you'll be able to charge more as new folks come your way. People love it when service exceeds their expectations. Do that and you'll be in good shape.

Most of all, VALUE YOURSELF.

The work you do is important and you should be paid well for it. Never ever discount your worth, because there's nowhere to go from there, but down.